Turnaround force tasked with rescuing JAL as it slashes jobs and subsidiaries
JAPAN AIRLINES (JAL), the ailing carrier which is getting a massive handout from the Japanese government, will be run by a state-owned body in charge of turning it around, it emerged over the weekend.
The airline is striving desperately to avoid bankruptcy, seeking aid from banks and the government. Liabilities at the carrier would exceed its assets by as much as $8.8bn (£5.2bn) if it went into liquidation.
The news came as JAL, which is whittling down its debt under the government’s guidance, said it was cutting 44 per cent of its staff, bringing its total number of employees down to 13,000.
It is also slashing the subsidiaries it has by more than half in a massive restructuring.
A task force that reports to Japanese transport minister Seiji Maehara has been seeking a bridging loan of about 180bn yen (£1.2bn) for JAL and a total capital boost of 300bn yen from both the government and the private sector.